BBDO to get another Pepsi brand

With 7Up already in its kitty, the agency has presumably won the creative duties of Quaker Oats

Breakfast & #BANNER1 & # cereal Quaker Oats is seeing a change in "fortune". afaqs! has learnt from reliable sources that the brand's creative duties are about to shift from Fortune Communications to BBDO India, an Omnicom agency. However, the sources say that the deal has not been signed officially yet.

Fortune Communications is JWT's second agency. However, PepsiCo officials expressed their ignorance about the development when contacted.

Quaker Oats is owned by FritoLay, a division of PepsiCo India. It was test launched in India in 2005, and formally launched in 2006. Fortune Communications has been handling its creative duties since then.

Initially, Quaker Oats bombarded only South India with its communication because it was found that health awareness in the states in that part of India is higher than elsewhere. This year, the brand's communication has gone national.

The marketing spend for Quaker Oats for the year is learnt to be in the region of Rs 8-10 crore. The brand is using traditional forms of advertising - print and television.

According to media reports, the Indian branded breakfast market stands at about Rs 400 crore, and is growing at a rate of 30 per cent every year. Kellogg's, the first mover in the category and also currently the largest, launched in India in 1990 with cornflakes. Today, it has almost 70 per cent share of the ready-to-eat cereals market. Other brands that exist in the space are Bagrry's, Mohun Meakins and the Delhi based KCL (which produces the Murginns brand).

Bagrry's, an Indian brand which has been around for almost a decade, is the market leader in the oats category. Though not a vigorous marketer, it is a strong regional player. Oats constitute 30 per cent of the breakfast cereal category in terms of volume and 18 per cent in terms of value. The top four brands constitute 90 per cent of the oats market in the category.

Brand Quaker is more than 125 years old and is a world leader in the oatmeal segment.